Blog Grid – Four Column

Virginia will be appearing at Rough Trade East in London this August to discuss and read from her new book The English River. Virginia will be in conversation with poet Will Burns, who is also Poet-In-Residence at Caught By The … Read More

Virginia will be appearing as Gideon Coe’s guest on BBC6 Music on 12th July. She’ll be discussing new book The English River, her writing and her extensive songwriting career. Virginia will also be choosing some of the music that will … Read More

Literature Works is a regional literature development agency which focusses on south west England. As part of the ongoing promotional work for The English River, Virginia recently spoke to them about the inspirations behind the book, the influence of Thomas … Read More

Writer Richard King has penned a glowing review for The English River on the Caught By The River website. Author of How Soon Is Now? and the forthcoming Original Rockers. The Lark Ascending, Richard offers an intriguing combination of review … Read More

“There is magic to be found in the text and photographs here, and also in this beautiful rendering of what the river actually is” – Pete Townshend The publication of The English River: a journey down the Thames in poems … Read More

The English River is Caught By the River’s Book Of The Month for June. Caught By The River emerged in 2007 as a website that served as a hub for writers, poets and artists, taking the arterial aspect of rivers … Read More

The 4th August will see Drift Records hosting a special reading by Virginia Astley who will recite poems from her new book The English River accompanied by Florence Astley on the harp. Her first book-length collection, The English River combines … Read More

Waterstones in Dorchester will be hosting a special reading on Wednesday 27th June by Virginia Astley who will recite poems from her new book The English River accompanied by Florence Astley on the harp. Her first book-length collection, The English … Read More

Having established herself as an acclaimed writer, both for her poetry and her role as writer-in-residence at Thomas Hardy’s Cottage in Dorset, Virginia is now set to publish her first book-length collection this June titled The English River. In 2014, … Read More

To mark the end of her residency at Hardy’s Cottage in October, literary website Writing Places asked writer-in-residence Virginia Astley to consider contemporary rural life in her essay. “It’s another damp autumn morning and dragging Henry Hoover round Hardy’s study … Read More

Virginia Astley has been writer-in-residence at Thomas Hardy’s Cottage in Dorchester throughout September and October. As the residency draws to a close, she shares her writer’s journal with Writing Places – a website created through a partnership between Literature Works … Read More

Virginia has been selected as writer-in-residence at Thomas Hardy’s Cottage in Dorset. Hardy’s literary works have always held a particular interest for Virginia. Her 1996 album Had I The Heavens was originally conceived as an album of songs inspired by … Read More

Virginia Astley will be hosting a series of special poetry workshops taking place this summer at Kestle Barton Art Gallery, Cornwall. Virgina was Artist-in-Residence at Kestle Barton in 2010. She is interested in putting the spoken word and music together … Read More

Virginia and Florence will be in performance at the forthcoming Port Eliot Festival which takes place 28th to 31st July 2016 at St. Germans, Cornwall. The Port Eliot Festival features a broad range of music and literary guests including Beth … Read More

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Virginia and Florence’s planned performances at the Caught By The River Thames festival on 6th/7th August have had to be cancelled. There have been several changes to the schedule for the event which unfortunately affects several … Read More

On this day in 1982, BBC Radio 1’s John Peel Show broadcast a session recorded with The Ravishing Beauties. The Peel Sessions, as they became to be known, usually consisted of four songs recorded by an artist live in the … Read More

Virginia features on the longlist for the New Welsh Writing Awards 2016: University of South Wales Prize for Travel Writing. New Welsh Review, in association with the University of South Wales and the CADCentre, has posted the longlist featuring nine … Read More

Following on from their appearance at Caught By The River’s Bush Hall event in February, Virginia and Florence Astley will be returning to perform at Caught By The River Thames – a 2 day event taking place at Fulham Palace … Read More

We’re proud to announce that the Virginia Astley Website is now relaunched! We hope you like the new look! More good news with the announcement that Virginia Astley and daughter Florence Astley will be performing as part of Caught By … Read More

1983 was an eventful year for Virginia, a year that mixed critical and commercial success with business frustration. The release of one single,two albums,soundtrack composing,session appearances,live concerts as well as trying to extricate herself from a recording contract kept Virginia … Read More

Can you tell us a little about what you’re currently working on? Well one thing I’m doing is listening to my father’s old music to put together a CD of instrumental music for EMI. So obviously it will have the … Read More

“We always had a running joke that men took over when you work with them, but I’m certainly not trying to prove any great feminist point” (VA, NME 10-9-83) “My first group, The Ravishing Beauties, was formed to promote Virginia … Read More

In 1982, Virginia Astley released her first record, the mysteriously entitled A Bao A Qu. Critics and fans alike were equally baffled by this strange title. Even radio presenter John Walters likened the title to that of an anagram. It … Read More